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Yahoo’s free email service has surprisingly rigid spam filters. While this prevents unwanted, unsolicited email, it can sometimes get in the way of legitimate virtual marketing campaigns. If your business is sending mass email messages to a listserv that includes Yahoo mail addresses, there are a few ways to ensure a greater chance of delivery. Depending on the Yahoo user’s settings, you still might not reach every subscriber, but you can assure a greater percentage of successfully delivered email. One way to increase the chance of delivery is to comply with CAN-SPAM, a 2003 law that outlines proper email marketing techniques for businesses.

1. Make it clear that your message is an advertisement. Email messages with misleading subject lines or content aren’t always snagged by mail filters, but they are not good for your business’ online reputation, and these types of email messages get blacklisted across Yahoo mail. Blacklisting is tough to fight, and it ruins your delivery ratio.

2. Avoid over-hyped terms like “buy now,” “hot deal” or similar pushy-sounding phrases. You want to be clear that your email is a marketing campaign, but it shouldn’t be over the top. Most mail filters use keyword flags as a method of identifying commercial spam.

3. Include an “unsubscribe” link in your email. If you don’t have an automated form for unsubscribing, tell customers to send a reply email in order to opt out. Users need a clear way to opt out of email messages, and you must honor these requests within 10 days. This is perhaps the most important component of CAN-SPAM compliance, and an unsubscribe button helps you avoid Yahoo mail’s filters.

4. Include a link to your privacy policy.

5. Add a footer or signature to the email with full contact information for your business. This is another crucial part of CAN-SPAM compliance. Without this information, your messages could get dumped into Yahoo’s spam folder.

About the Author

Richard Kalinowski began writing professionally in 2006. He also works as a website programmer and graphic designer for several clients. Kalinowski holds a Master of Fine Arts from Goddard College and a Bachelor of Science in education from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.